The Pearl of Persia
by Ame the Pirate Queen
Summary: Freed from slavery as a child by a pirate, a woman is forced on the same path twelve years later. Before she can join Jack on his ship, she must battle a Voodoo priestess and rescue the woman responsible for twelve long years of humilation and servitude.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, I probably don't own the plot line to this story, so please don't hold me accountable for any similarities this story bears to anything else already in existence. I do, however, own Mahdis and Inara._

_Author Notes: A new story…Anyway, this is the prologue to the story and it moves relatively quickly. The following chapters will move slower, but the fast pace was necessary to keep this from going on forever. This chapter contains the questionable issue of slavery. It is only featured briefly, but it's there none the less._

The Pearl of Persia

Prologue

A high pitched wail came from the slave pen as a child was ripped out of the grasping arms of her mother and carried roughly towards a group of waiting men. The little girl could not have been more than eight and sobbed for her mother, tears streaming down her copper coloured skin. One of the handlers roughly shook her in an attempt to silence her, succeeding in nothing more than making her bite down sharply into her tongue.

The sudden eruption of pain silenced her and she brought shaking fingers to touch the blood gushing over her chin. For a brief moment she was quiet, but then she lost it. She broke out into hysterical screams and cries, thrashing wildly in terrified panic. The handlers shoved her into the waiting hands outside the pen. Thick fingers slid down her arms and grasped her undeveloped side hard. She looked up at the leering features of the man who owned her body, now silent tears oozing from the corners of her eyes.

The flow of blood from her tongue began to slow and become tacky, giving her a wild appearance. She let out a cry and began to wiggle frantically in his hold, the instinct for flight taking over. He shook her harshly and then back handed her, a sneer tugging at his thin lips. She stilled in his hold, the ragged remains of her clothing hanging off her childish, undernourished body. He lecherously looked her over, touching her, before returning his gaze to the impassive handlers.

"I'll take 'er." He chortled, pressing her trembling form against his beefy one, but his eyes were now sifting through the crowded slave pen. "Bring out 'er motha. I liked theh looka 'er."

Within moments, a woman was dragged out of the pen and thrown in front of the man's feet. The little girl began to whimper and reached out to the prone female, sobbing for her mother. The woman's chest rose and fell slowly as she looked up into the terrified face of her child, but she did not try to assail her daughter's fear. There was an expression of hopelessness on her exotic face and her peculiar violet eyes were dull. The man's gaze was on her for brief seconds before he nodded to the handler.

"I'll take 'er too." He shoved the child down on to the ground and into her mother's waiting arms.

He turned back to the waiting handlers and began to conclude his business while his newly purchased slaves were led towards a back door. They were shoved into a dark wagon along with one other person and the woman immediately tucked herself into an unoccupied corner, holding her daughter close. The little girl buried her face in her mother's neck and simply shook, the comforting touch of her mother helping to soothe her panic.

There was a man sitting across from them. He was ragged and coarse looking, a wild mane of light brown curls haloing his head. He looked more like a pirate than a slave. The woman watched him warily and stroked the back of her child's head, distrust rolling off of her waves. The wagon lurched suddenly and they heard the buyer's voice rising above the bustle of the city.

The man in the wagon, a slave now, did not try to engage her in conversation but watched her with dark brown eyes, a serious expression on his features. He continued staring until they had long since left the city behind and the sharp tang of the ocean managed to seep past the dirty canvas of the wagon. Enough time had passed and the little girl had grown calm enough to slip into sleep.

The wagon went over a pot hole and jerked her awake. She blinked blearily, eyes the exact colour as her mother's, widening when the salty smell of the sea assailed her nose. She turned in her mother's lap and looked up at the older woman with an endearingly innocent expression.

"Mama, are we going home now?" She asked, her young voice unsure.

Her mother sighed quietly and tenderly brushed hair out of her child's face. "No, Inara, we are not going home."

Somehow, the little girl, Inara, found a gap in the canvas wall and pushed it open with her hands. For a moment she looked at the sparkling, roiling ocean about a mile away from the dusty road they were on. She suddenly jerked her head back in and pointed a dirty finger through the hole.

"Mama, look at the pretty boat!" She cooed. "Its sails match my hair!"

The man's back immediately straightened and a toothy grin broke out across his weathered face. He leaned forward and motioned for Inara to come towards him. Despite being sold into slavery and seeing the destruction of her homeland, she went to him with the naivety and innocence of a child. He ruffled her hair and pointed to the ship still just visible through the crack in the canvas.

"Ye won't be eh slave fer much longer, me pretty." He said confidently. "Tha' boat is filled to theh brim with pirates. They're 'ere to break me out."

She whipped her head around to look at the shadowed shape of her mother. "Mama, is he telling the truth?" She asked in their native tongue, the words flowing off her tongue like honey.

"I don't know, Inara. Come sit with me now and leave the man alone."

She obediently followed her mother's command and hunkered down in the dark, watching the man with shining violet eyes. The older woman wrapped a protective arm around Inara's shoulders and held the child close. The wagon came to a sudden lurching halt and an ominous, meaty thud reached the hidden occupants.

Panic began to return and when the canvas split cleaning and unfurled like flesh around a wound, a frightened cry erupted from the young girl. A head stuck into the wagon and a grin broke out across this person's face when he saw the man sitting nonchalantly in the shadows.

"Bootstrap!" The newcomer chortled. "I told ye we'd break ye out as soon as ye got bought. Git outta theh wagon, I think we made a little too much noise in tha pursuit of this here wagon."

Bootstrap agilely leapt out of the wagon and the pirate clapped him affectionately on the shoulder. It seemed as if the two were about to depart and leave the two worried females hunched in a dark corner of the wagon. Bootstrap turned at the last moment and looked back into the frightened eyes of Inara, a sigh escaping him.

"Jack, ye know we can't jus' leave 'em 'ere." He extended a hand to Inara and her mother. "Would ye like to come with us? We can take ye where ever ye'd like in the Caribbean."

Bootstrap received an abrupt thump from his friend. "Bootstrap, I think theh time in captivity has addled yer brain. I'm the captain of theh Pearl, not ye. I'm theh one tha' makes theh orders."

"We're not gonna leave 'em 'ere to fall back inta slavery."

"If I say we are, then we are!" The two men descended into friendly bickering and Inara's mother silently prodded her child into moving.

In the space of a few heartbeats, Inara was over the side of the wagon and running towards the tree line just as her mother told her. She had barely gotten past the first trees before a steely arm wrapped around Inara's waist and clamped her against an equally hard body. Her form stiffened fearfully and she cautiously looked up to see the strange pirate staring down at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"Ye run pretty fast fer a girl, faster'en most of the lads on me ship." He commented neutrally.

She did not respond, but a good deal of the fear drained out of her face. His hold on her loosened slightly as Bootstrap came into view beside the wagon, her mother held tight against him. Bootstrap looked over at Jack and carefully relinquished his death grip on the woman, merely holding onto her wrist now.

"She says 'er name is Mahdis and 'er daughter is Inara. She refuses to tell me any more until 'er kid is back, so it's a good thing ye can run faster than a jack rabbit, Jack." He jibed playfully.

Jack muttered something under his breath and gently pushed Inara towards her mother. The girl eagerly went to Mahdis's side and held her hand tightly. Mahdis carefully shook her wrist out of Bootstrap's grasp and looked affectionately down at her child. For a moment she didn't say anything, merely looking, and then she sighed.

"Precious, would you like to go back onto a boat and leave this place forever?"

"Are we going home?" Inara asked sweetly, excitement at returning to their home bringing a faint flush to her dark gold cheeks.

Mahdis gently broke her hold on her child's hand and wrapped her arm around Inara, forcing herself to hide her own sadness for the sake of her daughter. "No, sweetheart, we are not returning to Persia. I don't think we will ever be able to go back." When tears began to fill Inara's eyes, Mahdis crouched down before her and smiled warmly to the girl. "It's time for us to make a new home for ourselves, just the two of us. Would you like that?"

"What about Papa?"

A shadow crossed Mahdis's face. "Your father…your father cannot come with us."

"But wouldn't Papa like to be with us? He told me I was his favourite daughter…" Inara trailed off, disappointment darkening her eyes.

"You remember what happened that made us leave the palace, right?" She continued once Inara nodded. "Your father didn't make it out like we did."

"Papa died?"

"Yes, Inara, he did."

"Oh." She murmured and immediately looked down at her feet, her small fingers picking at the dirty fabric of her clothes. "I guess Papa can't come then."

"No, darling, he cannot but I'm sure he would want us to go and create a better life for ourselves."

Inara looked back at her mother and then at the two pirates standing awkwardly a few paces away. "Are they going to help us make a new life?"

"Yes, they've offered us passage on their ship to a safe place where nobody will be looking for us."

Mahdis seemed so sure that this was the right course and thus Inara let a shaky smile spread across her young face. "Okay, Mama." She murmured. "Can we go now? I don't want to stay here any longer."

Once she uttered those words, the two newly freed slaves were caught up in a whirlwind of activity. The men ushered them quickly off the road towards the ship anchored in a sandy cove. They barely had time to take in their surroundings once they boarded the boat before they were put into an unused cabin and had the door shut firmly behind them.

They were told firmly that they should not leave the cabin until either Bootstrap or Jack came back for them. It didn't matter though that they were shut up in a stuffy room, they were free now and had their new life stretching out before them.

The next two weeks passed as a blur for Inara. Mahdis spent the time either retching into a bucket or sleeping fitfully on the small cot they shared. Inara, on the other hand, was barely faced with any sea sickness and spent a good portion of the day light hours sitting up on the deck, questioning the pirates about every minute detail of sailing and life as a pirate.

The crew quickly grew tired of having her constantly underfoot and, seeing how something about Bootstrap unnerved her, she attached herself to Jack as soon as she sensed their irritation with her. For some reason, Jack did not tire of her. While he was at the helm, she would sit on an over turned bucket and watched him, peppering him with questions whenever one came to the forefront of her mind.

He was surprisingly patient with her and even let her drive the helm on occasion, always standing close just in case she needed him. Her golden skin took on a rich, milky copper colour and the slightly malnourished look she had started to adopt faded with the first week as she ate regular meals. The entire time, Jack had kept himself from asking the young girl about her past lest it would awaken traumatizing memories best left buried.

One evening while they were eating, he let her have dinner in his cabin with him, he looked at her while she happily forked fish into her mouth and finally asked the question that had been burning a hole in his head.

"Inara, where's yer father?"

She looked up from her plate and smiled widely, innocence shining from her face. "My papa's dead. He died when Mama and I were fleeing the palace."

"Palace?" He probed, interest piqued.

She nodded earnestly. "That's where Papa lived with Mama and all my aunts and brothers and sisters." She set her fork down and clasped her little hands together. "I had lots of brothers and sisters, but I don't know where they are anymore."

"Was yer father king, then?"

She wrinkled her nose. "King? What's a king? Papa was Shah."

It took Jack a second, but it clicked in his head that Shah must be the equivalent of a king. "So yer mother was theh…theh…Shah-ess?" It was all he could come up with.

She tilted her head as she thought about that. "Mama was one of Papa's wives. He had lots and they all lived together. All his daughters, like me, got ta live there too but all my brothers had to leave once they turned thirteen. I miss them." She murmured the last part, a sad look entering her eyes.

"Yer father had a harem?" Jack asked incredulously, hardly believing his ears.

She shrugged and picked her fork back up. He watched her eat for several long minutes before a smile spread across his lips.

"Ye really are from Persia, aren't ye?"

She nodded without even looking up, continuing to hungrily eat. He let the subject drop after that and Inara started up her questions again. There were many such interludes between the young girl and pirate, but it soon became time for Jack's ship to dock in the English city of Port Royal. Once the ship was moored, he helped Mahdis off the boat while her sick body tried to right itself on the land.

Inara followed obediently behind, eyes wide as she stared in soft wonderment at the numerous buildings spreading out before her. She paused a moment as she watched a magnificently dressed woman walk gracefully up a railed gangplank a few ships over, amazed at how the rich fabric of her gown reflected the sunlight as if thousands of tiny jewels were sewed into the material itself.

Inara paused long enough to lose Jack and her mother and when she looked back in their direction, her throat closed suddenly in panic when she found a sea of strangers instead of familiarity. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to fight her rising fear and started pushing through the mass of people in the direction she thought her mother and Jack had gone. A hand suddenly clamped around her arm and she let out a surprised squeak. She looked up slowly, but a happy smile burst over her lips when she saw Jack's worried countenance staring down at her.

"Where did ye think ye were goin', poppet?" He asked, concern radiating out of his dark eyes.

She slipped her little hand into his far larger one and grinned to him. "A lady was wearing a pretty dress with sparkly things on it." She craned her head over her shoulder in an attempt to catch a final glimpse of that gown. "I think she got on that ship." She pointed at a ship behind them before leaping on to another subject.

"Where's Mama?"

Jack blinked for a moment at the rapid change in subject. "Yer mam is sittin' in tha' tavern over there. She's waitin' for ye. A…friend o'mine will be takin' ye to yer new home."

"Where's our new home?"

Jack easily scooped the young girl up and put her onto his shoulders, unable to explain to himself why he felt so affectionate towards the dark skinned child. There was something in the way her face sparkled in innocent excitement or how she was so interested in everything around her. But maybe, more than anything else, it was how much she reminded him of himself when he was her age.

There was something in her violet eyes that bespoke of a yearning for something more; something that life wasn't offering her yet. He had seen that ache dissipate while she stood upon the deck of the Pearl and felt the roll of the ocean beneath her feet, the sting of the salty breeze on her cheeks.

He pointed to the hills that rose behind the town, more directly to the sprawling mansion directly in front of them. "That's were yer gonna be livin' from now on. Yer mam's gonna be a maid there and ye'll start trainin' to be a lady's maid. The guv'ner has a daughter 'bout yer age. Once she grows up, she'll be needin' a personal maid. That'll be yer job. It's a good one, many lasses like yerself would give their eye teeth fer such an opportunity."

She didn't say anything until he set her carefully down on her feet and led her into the dim interior of the tavern. "Can't I stay on the Pearl with you?" She asked softly, not wanting to be sent to the comparatively dull life of a maid.

"No lass, a pirate ship isn't no place fer a lovely little girl like ye. Yer place is in a nice mansion where ye'll be safe and taken care of fer the entirely of yer life."

Such a life sounded exceptionally dull to Inara, but she bit her tongue. She may only have been eight but she had well developed common sense. She dutifully followed Jack and sat down beside her mother, not particularly minding when her mother wrapped a protective arm about her shoulders.

Mahdis looked up at jack and smiled tiredly; worry putting premature lines around her eyes. "Thank you for your help, Jack. We owe you so much for helping us…"

Jack held up his hands in a gesture to stop her words. "Yer welcome, but ye don't owe meh anythin'. I may be a pirate, but tha' don't mean I'm 'eartless. Ye needed 'elp and I gave it to ye. Just raise yer daughter as best as ye can, she's a special lass."

Mahdis stroked Inara's shoulder and nodded in agreement. "That she is, this opportunity you are presenting us is life changing." A shadow crossed her face. "It will be very different than what we are accustomed to, but I knew the moment those soldiers entered the palace our lives would never be the same."

A matronly woman sidled up beside Jack and touched his forearm lightly. He turned abruptly, hand going to the hilt of the sword he carried, but upon seeing her face, he relaxed.

"Becky." She inclined her head and he motioned towards the two dark skinned females sitting in front of them. "This Mahdis and Inara, remember I told you about them?"

The slightly dumpy woman narrowed her eyes in appraisal as she took in the other two, not speaking for several moments until a short grunt escaped her. "It don't look like the two of 'em 'ave ever worked a day in their blessed lives."

"We haven't, ma'am." Mahdis said softly, meeting and holding the elder's gray gaze with fierce determination. "But that does not mean my daughter and I would be detrimental to the successful running of yon mansion."

Becky laughed in a surprisingly girlish way. "Ahh, she 'as spirit! Wouldnay thought a freed slave like 'er woulda kept that." She focused her gaze on Inara. "Wha' about your lass? Ye think she'll be able to work and benefit the household?"

"I'll do what I have to." Inara said, sounding far more mature than her meager eight years.

"Oh lass, I think ye'll be a good addition to the staff." Becky chortled and just like that, the two Persian women were accepted into the Governor's household.

Within a few short minutes all the loose ends had been tied up and Becky was chatting easily with Mahdis, helping the woman feel more at ease in her new surroundings. Jack stood awkwardly by the table, prepared to wait until the trio had left the tavern before returning to his ship. Inara didn't immediately follow the other two and instead stood in front of him. She looked up at him and smiled those violet eyes warm.

"Thank you for helping us, Jack." She murmured, suddenly shy.

"Yer welcome, lass."

"We won't see each other again, will we? You know, with me being a lady's maid someday and you a fierce pirate?"

"Aye, I highly doubt it."

She let out a little sigh and then reached behind her head. Her little fingers made a few deft movements and then flew to her collar to catch a hidden necklace. She pulled it out from beneath her clothes and grabbed Jack's hand. She coiled the simple cord threaded with a few ornate beads interspersed with smooth pieces of engraved copper in his palm and then covered it with his fingers.

"Don't forget me, okay?" She asked innocently, a hint of sadness tingeing her words.

"I don't think I'd ever be able to forget ye, lass."

She opened her mouth to speak, but her mother urgently called out to her to hurry towards the door for the time had come for them to leave. So instead of speaking, she gathered up her supply of courage and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed her face into his midsection and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and started running towards the door. She threw him a final glance over her shoulder, a last blinding smile, and left him with three words.

"Don't forget me!"

He knew he never would.


	2. Chapter One

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, I probably don't own the plot line to this story, so please don't hold me accountable for any similarities this story bears to anything else already in existence. I do, however, own Mahdis and Inara._

_Author's Notes: Well, this only took me about four days to get out, so hurrah! Anyway, this chapter truly begins the story and the first threads of the plot have been woven. Thank you so much to SparrowsVixen for reviewing! I really appreciate your response. Okay so in this story Elizabeth Swann is something of a bitch, at least in the beginning chapters where she is shown. Will is sort of clueless to how rude she can be because she never shows that side of her personality around him. Inara is bitter about seven years of verbal abuse from Elizabeth and thinks that the noble girl's disappearance is somehow ironically amusing, though she would never voice that aloud. Please don't flame if my take on these two canon characters are not how you think they are supposed to be. This is how I envision them being in this story universe. Now onwards!  
_

* * *

The Pearl of Persia

Chapter One

Inara pushed the heavy curtains away from the window, carefully tying them back with a heavy cord. She looked through the glass to the glistening, aqua waters below and felt a sad little smile spread across her lips. It had been twelve years since she and her mother entered the Swann household. She had immediately been assigned to Governor Swann's daughter, becoming the girl's playmate until she grew old enough to need a maid.

By the time Inara turning thirteen, Elizabeth Swann was fourteen and required constant assistance in everything from dressing to washing. It was Inara's duty to tend to her every need. In the beginning, Inara tried to befriend her mistress but soon discovered that Elizabeth didn't want to be friends with her dark skinned servant. The hysterical temper tantrums and slaps were evidence enough that the young noble believed herself better than the Persian maid.

As Inara grew older, her mother made sure to teach her the culture of their people and impressed upon her the importance of knowing who she was. When she found out that she was one of the many children of the Shah, a veritable princess, she laughed in her mother's face. Thirteen year old Inara was not prepared to believe such a fact. It took her several years to come to terms with the face that she was more than just a lowly maid.

When she reached her majority at eighteen, she was given the option of leaving the Swann household for work elsewhere. One look at her mother's withering body made that decision for her. Mahdis did not have much longer on the earth and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her before it was too late. Twelve months later Mahdis passed away and left Inara alone in a world where she was not accepted.

The loss of her mother was a painful blow to Inara, but she had no choice but to press on. The household observed a single day of mourning for Mahdis but it was only the servants who participated. Elizabeth had poked fun at her when she caught Inara crying silently as she stoked the fire. To say the least, there was little affection in the copper skinned girl's heart for the pale pampered lady. Inara shook herself out of her thoughts and crossed the large bedroom.

She looked down at Elizabeth's sleeping form, fighting the urge to pick up one of the large pillows and smother her with it. It was true that Elizabeth had gotten better since those early years but Inara was still surprised when the noble was barely civil to her. She gently shook Elizabeth's shoulder and forced a smile onto her lips as the girl's eyes opened.

"Good morning, my lady." Inara said.

"It can't be time for me to get up yet, you've made a mistake." Elizabeth snapped sleepily. "Go away and come back later."

"I'm sorry, my lady, but I have been directly ordered by your father to have you up and dressed before noon. I let you sleep as long as possible, but you must get up now." It had taken her years to perfect the bland tone that masked the rest of her emotions.

Elizabeth heaved a tortured sigh and swung her legs off the side of her bed, rising to her feet quickly. Inara quickly began to do her job and within a half hour had the noble dressed in an expensive dress in a cream colour. The ridiculously tight corset shaped Elizabeth's body into the standard of beauty and the girl could barely breathe, taking tiny little bird breaths.

Inara coiled her ash coloured hair up onto her head, putting it into an elaborate style that was all the rage amongst the noble class. She powdered Elizabeth's cheeks and added the smallest amount of kohl, making her eyes stand out from her pale face.

Elizabeth stood and smoothed out non-existent wrinkles in her dress and turned sneering countenance to Inara. "My hair looks terrible."

"If you think so, my lady."

"Redo it this instant."

"I'm sorry my lady but there is no time. Your father wishes for you to join him downstairs in the breakfast room."

A huff came from Elizabeth, but she left the bedroom and stomped down the stairs. Inara suspected Lord Swann wished to talk to his daughter about her impending marriage to that nice blacksmith, William Turner. She really didn't know what such a kind man like Will saw in the stuck up Elizabeth, but it was not her place to ask him about it. He only ever once acknowledged her existence and that was to remark upon how strange it was to see a woman of mixed race working in a respectable household.

She had bristled at this because she was a full blooded Persian not the mix of Caucasian and African. Yet, because she was just a maid and he was Elizabeth's intended, she could not call him out on his comment even though he was of the same social standing as herself. She grit her teeth as she began to tidy up the chamber, making the bed and putting away Elizabeth's toiletries.

She finished that quickly and left the room. She made her way down the staircase, careful not to scuff the expensive carpet. This had been her life for years and it was just as dull as she had expected it to be when she was eight. Suddenly, an image she had tried to forget sprung to the forefront of her mind. A bright, tanned face grinned down to her, a multitude of earrings sparkling in his ears.

Those familiar features brought an ache to her heart and she quickly shoved it from her mind's eye. She may have been little more than a child when Jack Sparrow abruptly entered her life, but she had never forgotten him. She snorted at that. She had made him promise to never forget her, but she was sure he had her. She had been eight years old, an irritating little girl, why would he remember her twelve years later?

She clamped down on those thoughts and returned them to a dusty corner of her mind. He would always have a place in her heart, if only because he had been the one to rescue her from the terrible fate of a slave. She quietly closed the door to the breakfast room and stood silently by the frame. She had arrived just in time for Lord Swann motioned for her to come to his side. Inara did as she was told and demurely folded her hands in front of her.

"My lord?" She asked in that same, emotionless voice.

He looked up at her, his blue grey eyes bored. "You are to chaperone Elizabeth while she ventures out into town to visit young William. Do not let them out of your sight again."

Inara felt a delicate flush stain her cheekbones. Lord Swann was alluding to the last time Elizabeth had seen Will. Inara hadn't thought twice about letting the couple go off into a back room of the shop. It was not until they reemerged an hour later looking considerably rumpled that she realized her mistake. She had been punished for that. She thought it was strange that the engaged two were not permitted to be alone with each other.

So what if they wanted to do things otherwise reserved for the marriage bed? They would be wed regardless. If Elizabeth found herself swelling with child, said wedding would only be hastened. Apparently that was not the way it was done in Port Royal let alone in civilized society. Elizabeth had told her this, clearly snubbing the foreign culture Inara called her own.

"Yes, my lord." She murmured. "My lady, are you ready to depart?"

"Let's go right now. I want to see Will." Elizabeth completely ignored Inara's words.

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

Inara perched herself on a dusty stool, trying to keep herself from staring at the whispering couple. She honestly could care less about what they were talking about but simply sitting and doing nothing for several hours bored her to the core. She couldn't even pet the donkey that moved the bellows for it was strangely absent. She picked absently a loose thread on the front of her dress unraveling it and dropping it onto the dirt floor.

Elizabeth let out a particularly childish, high pitched giggle and Inara couldn't help it. She leapt up from the stool and sent a particularly venomous glare at the two. For some reason, she met Will's surprise brown and felt a ripple of recognition grip her. She shook the feeling away and in a very rare moment of defiance, planted her hands upon her hips. For a moment she didn't look like the soft spoken, meek maid both Elizabeth and Will had grown accustomed to chaperoning them but a suddenly fierce woman who glowered angrily at them.

"For god's sake!" She snapped. "This is me leaving. Lady Swann, I'm returning for you in an hour." She pivoted on her heel and strode out of the smithy, leaving the couple stunned.

She stomped down the dirty lane towards town, arms crossed beneath her chest as she muttered obscenities under her breath. She felt the tightness in her shoulders begin to dissipate as the first surge of people surrounding her and the clamor of the lower class putting her at ease. Maybe it was because her childhood had been split between the low key, comforting atmosphere of her father's harem and the intense, highly strung ambiance of the Swann's household but she found the most comfort when she was immersed in the loud culture of the unrestrained lower class.

Inara let the throng bear her down into the center of the town, just minutes away from Will's smithy. She broke away from the crowd and entered the bakery blessed with the household's daily business. She usually was the one to go down and pick up the pastries and breads for the day for her main duty was to attend to Elizabeth's every need, but on a rare occasion it would fall to her.

She absently pushed a loose curl behind her ear as she smiled to the young man standing behind the counter. She waited patiently until it was her turn and she leaned upon the glass counter, cradling her chin her hands.

"Good morrow to you, Tristan." She said sweetly, her violet eyes actually warming.

The clerk grinned brightly to her. "'Lo there, Inara. What are ye doing down here this late in the mornin'?"

"I'm chaperoning Lady Swann and her fiancé."

He made an exaggerated motion of looking around the shop. "I don't see 'er or Will."

She shrugged, a cheeky smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Maybe I left them in the smithy or maybe I knocked them both out to escape their saccharine sweetness."

He just started laughing and her smile widened. "So, what can I get ye?"

Inara took a half step back and quickly made her choice. "A dozen of those Madeleine cookies." She shrugged her shoulders a little bit. "I'll have to try and smooth over my outburst with the loving couple when I return to them."

He nodded as he collected her order and tucked the cookies into a small basket. He winked at her and slid an extra cookie over the counter.

"And a free one for you." She grinned at him and picked up the cookie wrapped in wax paper and slipped it into her pocket.

She slid the required coinage across the glass, flashed him a final smile, and then exited the bakery. She ran a few more errands, this time things she had needed to do for herself for quite a while, and then realized it was time for her to return to the smithy. She picked up the pace and pushed through the on coming crowds before stumbling into the alleyway that the back entrance to the smithy opened into.

She pushed open the heavy door and was suddenly struck by how oddly quiet it was. A flutter of unease beat in her stomach as she proceeded quietly towards the front room where she had let the couple. She froze when she saw three dirty looking men drag something towards the front door. One of the men broke the formation to through the limp form of a young woman over his shoulder and Inara swallowed a horrified gasp.

She had no time to say anything or try to stop them for they disappeared through the door and into the harsh sunlight. She immediately burst into the front room and fell over a something, the basket of cookies flying off her arm and rolling into a dark corner. She flipped around on the ground and let out a screech when she saw Will's prone body.

She was on the verge of hysterics when she saw his chest rise and fall in the steady pattern of a breathing human. She crawled to his side and promptly began to shake him, throwing propriety out the window. Lucky enough for her, he came to not long after she started jostling him. He lurched into a sitting position and looked blearily around.

"Where's Elizabeth?!" He bellowed.

Inara swallowed nervously. "I saw three men carry her out."

"Why didn't you stop them?" He yelled, turning his wild eyes onto Inara's face.

She looked at him hard. "Because it would have been three burly men against one small woman. I wouldn't have stood a chance against them."

"I have to save her!" He tried to get up but promptly crumbled to his knees. "My head feels like an anvil being pounded."

"They probably hit you with one of those hammers to knock you out. Were you able to see them before you passed out?" He nodded. "We must report this to Lord Swann, maybe he'll know what to do."

* * *

Lord Swann didn't know what to do when Inara told him of his daughter's kidnapping, but that didn't mean he didn't do anything. He took one look at Inara's unkempt appearance and William's worried expression and assumed the worst, regardless of how irrational such a leap was. He presumed that Inara had been the one to 'kidnap' Elizabeth because she had always been jealous of the wealth and beauty of the noble girl and desperately wanted William for herself.

She, apparently, had seduced William after knocking Elizabeth out and stowing her body somewhere to keep his mind off of the disappearance of his fiancé. She had then returned to the manor with William in tow to tell her fabricated story to keep the blame from finding her. She had been surprised to say the least and even more so when Swann told her that unless she left his property within the next ten minutes, he would set the authorities on her.

She felt regardless of how quickly she vacated his house he would still alert the authorities to her 'crime'. It'd probably be best for her if she got out of Port Royale as soon as possible. It didn't matter that she was innocent of the crime he maligned her with, it would the word of a noble, the governor no les against that of a dark skinned servant. She would stand no chance in court.

Upon hearing Lord Swann's decree, she fled the parlor and rushed to the small room adjoined to Elizabeth's sleeping chamber that had been hers for years. She didn't bother changing her clothes and simply stuffed what few belongings she had into a threadbare carpet bag that had, at one point, belonged to her mother. She grasped it tightly and then fled the house, never once pausing to bid farewell to the servants who were her closest thing to family.

She stumbled down to front steps of the sprawling mansion and then went into a flat out run. Her sense of survival kicked in and adrenaline pumped in her veins. The surge of adrenaline faded out of her system when she was half way to town, leaving her exhausted and terrified alone on the dirt road. She dragged the heavy bag towards the trees that lined the road and dropped it beside the trunk of a large oak.

She collapsed down beside it and leaned against the trunk, drawing her legs up to her chest and pressed her face into her knees. She refused to go to Tortuga or any of the other seedy pirate towns and become a whore so she could eat. Her morals wouldn't allow for her to become a prostitute. But because of those morals, there were not many places a young, unmarried, destitute woman could find honest work.

If Swann reported her, which she highly suspected he would, it would put a glaring black mark on her reputation and no respectable family would want to hire a girl suspected of killing or kidnapping her mistress for her fiancé. Maybe she could barter for passage on a ship and go to England or perhaps even to the colonies in America? She didn't think anybody would have heard of Governor Swann or his daughter in the colonies.

A small flicker of hope lit in her heart, fighting against the rising despair. Could she really get there and then survive in the wilds of America? It seemed as if indentured servitude would be her only option when she got there. That was no an appealing future, but if it was the only one open to her, she would have to accept it.

She let out a shaky breath and let a single, traitorous tear slip out of her eye. In the space of a few hours her life had completely fallen a part. The dull life of a lady's maid was far preferable to being alone and lost in the harsh word.

"Inara!" A vaguely familiar voice jerked her out of her misery. "Inara!"

Her head jerked up and she hastily wiped away her tears. It was then she saw William running towards her, coming from the direction of the Swann household. A scowl immediately took hold of her face and she pushed herself up onto her feet.

"I don't want to talk to you, William Turner!" She snapped angrily. "My life is problematic enough now without you in it!"

He continued striding towards her, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "Please, I need your help getting Elizabeth back!"

Inara look at him for a moment then let out a snort. "You want _me_ to help you find Lady I'm So Much Better Than You, You Dirty Half Breed Swann? Thanks, but I'm good just sitting here."

"Elizabeth would never say something like that!"

She then laughed in the same jaded way. "You clearly haven't met both sides of your fiancé, Turner. I have been her personal maid for seven years and let me tell you, Elizabeth Swann is full of comments like that and far worse. I have no desire to help you get her back from whoever kidnapped her."

"You mean you're just going to sit back and watch her die?"

"I highly doubt she's going to die, you're just being melodramatic, but yes. That is exactly what I intend to do. She would never have come after me had I been kidnapped."

"Well of course not, you're just a…" William suddenly stopped talking, eyes wide as he realized what he was about to say.

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I'm just a what, a half breed? An abomination? The bastard child of some rich noble on their slave? You know, for once I wish somebody would just _ask_ me what I am instead of assuming I'm half black, half white."

He looked shamed. "What are you?" He asked quietly, trying to make up for his racist comment.

She scowled at him. "No sir, I'm not going to tell you. It doesn't even matter anyway. I am not going to help you find your precious Elizabeth." She picked up her bag and tried to brush some of the leaves and dirt off of it. "I'm going to go catch a boat to England and from there America. I am never going to come back to this place."

William looked a little incredulous. "America? Why ever would you want to go there?"

"It's none of your business, but any future I have here in the Caribbean has dissolved now that Lord Swann is going to tell everyone I either kidnapped or murdered his only precious daughter. I won't be able to find work here to save my life and, if I did stay here, the authorities would take me in and I'd end up with a broken neck. Personally, I like my neck the way it is and so I'm going to take my chances in the American colonies."

"You don't have any money." He tried to point out.

"William Turner, you know nothing about me or my situation, excluding what I just told you. Do not presume to think you know me, you do not. I have enough to get by and if it happens to run out before I find employment, I'll survive some how." She walked past him and stepped back onto the road, her earlier melancholy forgotten. "Goodbye William, I hope we won't ever see each other again." And then she left him standing alone beneath the branches of that old oak tree.

* * *

_Yeah…So Inara's a little pissed. Next chapter begins once she's found passage on a merchant ship about a month or two in the future. So, if you've read the chapter please review and tell me what you think!_

_Blessed Be_

_Ame_


	3. Chapter Two

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

_Author's Notes: So this chapter took a little longer, I apologize for that. School's been particularly hectic. Lucky for you readers I've got the next two or three chapters planned out in my head so those should be written down quite speedily. Jack reappears in this chapter, hurrah! But any romance between him and Inny (Inara) will be a long time coming. I apologize to those expecting them to leap into the sack immediately, but I believe that the smut bunnies need a foundation to shmex along. Also, I have no problem with Elizabeth in general regardless of what this story might say. Having her be spoiled and rude just worked better for this than having her be all sweet and cuddly. Thank you __**so**__ much to Affectionate-Sinner and SparrowsVixen for reviewing! Please, if you read this chapter and like it or hate it, tell me about it! I really would like to hear what you think about this story._

* * *

The Pearl of Persia

Chapter Two

Inara thumped her head against the flimsy wooden wall of her small cabin and groaned loudly. It had not been difficult to convince one of the many merchant ships in Port Royale and the captain had welcomed her aboard with open arms. He neglected to tell her until after they left port that since the crew believed it unlucky to have a woman on board, she would have to stay below deck as much as possible.

Essentially, she was confined to her cabin for the entire voyage to England. It was going to be a long two and a half to three months. It was supposed to be a consolation that the captain had given up his cabin so that she could be more comfortable but she would have been willing to take the stuffiest, dustiest room on the boat to be allowed out on deck.

She cast bored eyes across the elegant chamber and slowly rose from the rumpled bed. She stalked across the room and plopped down in a cushioned chair that was bolted to the ground. A detailed map of the world held down on the table by four smooth stones and she traced her fingers of the inked lines. She concentrated on the jumble of letters that named each of the coloured blobs, biting on the tip of her tongue as she forced that rarely used portion of her brain to pull the symbols together into an understandable word.

She had been taught how to read in Persia, but after twelve long years of rarely using such a skill, she could barely remember how. Lucky for her, she had several months to polish up on her reading and writing skills. It clicked suddenly and she let out a crow of delight. Persia, her home. A delighted grin spread across her face and she leaned back in the chair, pleased with herself.

The rush of joy quickly abated and Inara was bored once again. She let out a frustrated sigh and was about to slowly drag herself to her feet when a bone jarring crash rocked the room. She let out a squeak and tumbled from the chair. She lurched to a standing position and looked around wildly. What seemed like hundreds of feet pounded above her head and she heard the roar of panicked voices.

Another thunderous crash shook the ship and she couldn't bite back a cry of fear. She rushed over to the bed and hunkered down, pressing herself against the wall. She was on a merchant ship flying the British flag in pirate infested waters. It did not take a genius to figure out what was happening. She could only hope that the hold would be raided and then the pirates would go on their merry way, leaving the captain's chambers and the woman inside unmolested.

She exhaled shakily and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. Maybe if she was very, very quiet nobody would come down and check on her. She tried not to think about what would happen if the ship sank and what would happen to her locked in that little room. The near constant pops of pistols and explosions of cannons suddenly faded and the churning in her stomach intensified.

A particularly vicious boom shook the entire room so badly that her head was slammed against the wall, pain blossoming in red hot tendrils from the base of her skull. A heavy pair of foot steps thudded down the hallway and paused in front of her room. Her heart very nearly exploded out of her chest with the intensity of its beating and she bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from making noise.

The heavy, bolted door flew open after a powerful kick ripped the bar through the wood and she could not help but screech in fear. The man stepped fully into the room and suddenly all the terror drained out of her. Fury replaced her fright and she leapt from the bed, planting her fists on the full curve of her hips.

"It appears as if my hopes have been crushed." She spat, rage sparking out of her violet eyes.

William Turner wheeled around and stared in surprise at Inara, his mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish. "In-Inara…I…"

"You what?" She snapped.

He was saved from speaking any more when another man barreled into the room, laughing jovially. "Will, what booty have ye found within theh cap'ain's sumptuous chambers?" The pirate's gaze fell on Inara and he let out a crow of delight. "Quite the treasure ye've discovered! Too bad ye've got Elizabeth already, guess I'll jus' have to take 'er off yer hands!" He stepped towards her but froze as the expression on Inara's face grew murderous.

"If you dare take one more step in my direction, pirate, I will not hesitate to defend myself against your wholly unwanted advances on my person." It didn't matter that she, an unarmed petite woman had no chance against a fully armed pirate, but the vehemence in her voice and arrangement of her features was enough to stay the pirate from coming any closer.

She took a step forward and suddenly her golden features turned grey, a film of sweat sliding over her forehead. She pressed her palm against the throbbing lump on her head and fought the greasy, roiling sensation filling her stomach. Apparently, she had whacked herself harder than she thought when she connected so harshly with the wall. She sunk down on the bed with a small moan, a stream of curses in her native tongue slipped from her mouth as she cradled her heads in her hands.

She missed the look of recognition that crossed the pirate's face as he came forward and knelt before her.

"Lass, are ye alright?" He asked quietly.

"Do I look all right?" She hissed, the surprisingly crisp edge to her accent beginning to melt into something softer and more foreign.

"Ye look like yer about ta be sick."

"I feel like it." She muttered and forced herself to sit up, only to let out an undignified squawk. "Jack Sparrow?" She gasped, her nausea forgotten for the moment.

"In theh flesh, lass." He grinned.

His pleased expression disappeared when she abruptly kicked him in the chest, knocking him over. "You have ruined my only chance to escape this god awful country before the law is brought down on my head! You worthless ingrate!" She shrieked, lurching to her feet.

"Lass, what are ye doing?!" He yelped from his position on the floor.

"Exacting my revenge upon a gluttonous pirate who just had to attack _this_ merchant ship!"

She didn't have a chance to kick him against for he leapt to his feet agilely and grasped her firmly around the biceps to still her wild movements. It was obvious that she had a serious bump on her head for her skin was still tinged gray and it glistened with clammy moisture. He held her at arms length and looked down at her, a frisson of some unnamable feeling of pleasure rippling up his spine at the sight of her furious purple eyes glaring up at him.

"I think ye needte sit down, lass. Ye look positively green 'round theh gills."

"I do not!" She snapped. "Unhand me this instant!"

"I'm 'fraid I can't do that. Ye see, if I leave ye on this ship, ye'll be going down with it. The cap'ain of this here boat decided tha' it would be a fate worse than death to relinquish his cargo to a humble pirate like meself."

"You killed Captain Vander?!"

"No, I most certainly did not kill yer precious cap'ain."

"But…"

"We booted 'im over theh side of 'is ship."

"But he'll die!" She cried, her fighting once again renewed as she tried to get away from the apparently murderous pirate.

"Occupational hazard, lass. There are plenty of deserted islands in the Caribbean, there's a chance he'll get rescued eventually."

Sparks seemed to shoot out of her eyes even as she swayed precariously in his tight grasp, fighting against the darkness threatening to encompass her vision. "You are utterly barbaric! Unhand me immediately."

He merely sighed and waited until she swooned against his chest. He carefully scooped her up and cradled her against him, casting an aggravated glance at Will who had been standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"It looks as if we've acquired a new passenger on theh Pearl."

"Gibbs won't be pleased."

"Gibbs isn't theh cap'ain o' the Pearl, now is he? I'll decide who goes on or off of me ship!"

"Anamarie won't be happy either."

"The wench can keep 'er mouth shut if she doesn't like it, but I'm sure she'll be over theh moon about having another strumpet on board."

"Somehow, Jack, Inara doesn't strike me as the usual 'strumpet' type."

Jack tossed his head in an approximation of his usual hand flutter. "A manner of speech, young William, do try an' keep up. I know it's difficult fer a eunuch like yerself to understand theh intricacies of a pirate's vocabulary."

"Jack…"

"That's cap'ain Jack to you, eunuch."

"…do shut up."

Jack merely flashed him a grin and strode out of the chamber, leaving Will to think about grabbing Inara's few meager bags as the captain made off with his newest acquisition.

* * *

The first thing that Inara saw when she opened her eyes was a face unnaturally close to her own. She let out a high pitched shriek of surprise and lashed out with a foot, happening to catch Jack in exactly the same spot on his chest as before. He fell off the end of the bed and landed with a loud curse, clearly hurting the same spot on his tailbone for the second time in one day.

Her colour had improved significantly in the few hours she had been unconscious and the swelling on her skull had gone down. That's what he had been checking when she happened to wake up.

"Bloody hell, woman!" He hollered, pressing his hands against the florid bruise darkening on his chest.

She clutched the blanket spread over her lap, a glimmer of terror flickering in her large eyes. "What were you doing to me?" She asked her voice tremulous.

It hit him then that the Inara before him was more similar to the little girl he remembered from twelve years earlier. She had spent her early years in the safety of her father's harem or in captivity. Her life must have then taken a dramatic turn when she entered the Swann household and suddenly became safe, sheltered from the hardships of a common woman's life.

Compassion softened his gaze and a small smile spread across his face. "I was checkin' yer injury, lass. Nothin' more than that, I promise."

His expression seemed to soothe her and she relaxed her death grip on the worn blanket, letting out a shaky breath. "All right. How does it look?"

"Better, but ye whacked yerself pretty well."

She suddenly drew herself up, back straightening, and some of that fire from earlier returned to her eyes. "I do believe it was the cannon balls of _your_ ship that rocked _my_ ship so badly that I slammed against the wall. I did not intentionally abuse myself."

He began to laugh at her sudden eruption of spirit. "Lass, I didn't mean to imply that ye intentionally hurt yerself. It was jest a turn o' speech."

She crossed her arms beneath her breast and then realized she was wearing nothing more than her thin shift. She let out another squawk and snatched the blanket up to cover her chest. She immediately cast him an accusing, poisonous glare and he held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Anamarie, the other female on theh Pearl, undressed ye. I may be a pirate, lass, but even I would not stoop so low as to take advantage of a lady while she's asleep." A dastardly gleam entered his dark eyes. "I like me ladies awake and participatin'."

She made a disgusted noise at him and kept the blanket wrapped tightly about her torso. He grinned widely to her before finally rising to his feet. "Well lass, if yer feelin' up to it, would ye mind tellin' me why ye were on a vessel bound fer Britain? As far as I knew, ye had a good and stable life with the Swanns."

The fire in her eyes suddenly died out and she pulled her legs up against her body, hugging them tightly against her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and sighed, looking tired and lost.

"Lord Swann removed me from his household and threatened to send the authorities after me. I am quite sure that he alerted the guards as soon as I was out of sight. He seemed intent upon seeing me get my 'just' punishment."

"What were ye doing to deserve the estimable Lord Swann's wrath?"

"I was doing the intelligent thing. Instead of leaping in and getting myself kidnapped too, I stayed back so that I could identify those seedy men later. Apparently, though, I have designs upon Turner's virtue as well but I am convinced said virtue is long gone, just like Elizabeth's." She spat the girl's name out as if it left the foulest taste in her mouth, her abhorrence to the young noble more than apparent.

"Ye were there when she got kidnapped?!" The concern in his voice made her nose wrinkle and contempt darken her eyes.

"I have been her personal slave since I was thirteen, of course I was there."

"Ye mean servant, a'course."

She snorted bitterly. "I know what I was and servant certainly was not it."

"Elizabeth is such a nice lass, she'd never treat ye like that. Ye must be mistaken."

Inara's eyes widened in disbelief as Jack blindly supported Elizabeth and simply pointed towards the closed door, the confident woman the Swann household suppressed coming to light.

"Lass…"

Pain shone in her eyes as she fought the urge to give into teary melodramatics as Elizabeth would do, trying to stay strong in the face of such unwavering devotion to someone so undeserving. "Please, just go." She murmured.

It didn't matter that she was in Jack's room and that it would make more sense for him to kick her out. He opened his mouth to speak but she jerkily shook her head. It hurt that this man she thought would protect and support her like he had all those years ago discredited her word instantly. Maybe the friendship that blossomed between them when she was just a little girl and he barely a man didn't mean as much to him as it did to her.

She felt cold despite the blanket wrapped around her and she squeezed her eyes closed. She hated acting like an emotional, weepy girl but she found that she couldn't help giving in to the sudden misery welling inside of her. A single tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away roughly, angry with herself for being so weak. Her mother had always told her that crying solved no problem and a woman had to rely on her wits and intelligence to succeed.

Well, she would take her mother's advice. Twelve years was a long time and she could live without Jack's friendship, regardless of how much it hurt her. He had been a beacon of hope she had clung to throughout the dull but humiliating seasons spent attending to Elizabeth. She had always secretly, fervently wished that he would come back and whisk her away from the demeaning life she found herself in.

With each passing year and his continued absence, more excuses would be made and more flimsy dreams constructed to preserve the hopeful, stubborn girl that was slowly being broken in servitude. She desperately wanted him to be a fixture in her life but she felt that if was so loyal to Elizabeth that he wouldn't even listen to her complaints, then renewing their friendship was not an option.

She had no fondness in her heart for Elizabeth Swann. There was no place for her on the Black Pearl or in Jack's life. She would demand that they drop her off in the next port they docked in. She could handle not being close to Jack as long as he was far away and so being on the same boat as him was not possible. She also had an inkling that due to William's presence, the hunt for Elizabeth had started.

She refused to help them search for that vile creature. A sharp pang in her heart made her hunch over and she slumped down onto the bed. She rolled onto her side and faced the wall, pulling the blanket over her head. She clung to her original plan of going to America. There she would never have to see or even think about her old life in the Caribbean, especially the portions pertaining to one Captain Jack Sparrow.

* * *

_Will Inny go to America and forget about Jack? Will Jack let her go? What will happen to Elizabeth? Review and answers to all your questions will be answered all the faster! _

_Blessed Be_

_Ame_


End file.
